


Melding of Traditions

by GaeilgeRua



Series: A Granger and her Prewetts [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe, Guy Fawkes Night, Halloween, Multi, Pumpkin carving, Samhain, Sharing of traditions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-11
Updated: 2019-11-11
Packaged: 2021-01-27 11:34:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,469
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21391474
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GaeilgeRua/pseuds/GaeilgeRua
Summary: It's been nearly a year since they first met, and Fabian and Gideon were given a second chance at life. This year they're learning about their bonded's childhood traditions.
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Fabian Prewett/Gideon Prewett
Series: A Granger and her Prewetts [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1568596
Comments: 7
Kudos: 30
Collections: Hermione's Haven Harvest 2019





	Melding of Traditions

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Hermione's Haven 2019 Harvest. The theme this year was pumpkins, and the character I chose was Gideon. I also decided to add Fabian to the mix because I love these three.
> 
> I first want to thank CrookshankKitty and herroyalgoddess for their help when I wanted to understand more about Halloween celebrations in the 80s in the UK. They both also gave me tons of information about Guy Fawkes Night too. herroyalgoddess was also kind enough to read it over after this was complete, to make sure I didn't take too man liberties. I also want to thank Squarepeg72 and starrnobella for their help in Alpha and beta reading this. Any errors after they all read it over are my own.
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own anything or anyone recognizable from the HP world, and I am not making any money off of this.

"Hey, Hermione?" Gideon called out as he and Fabian were digging the innards out of their pumpkins. Their wife was in the kitchen refilling her mug of hot cider, her own pumpkin partially empty of seeds and goop.

After the three of them came to the same decision at the Weasley's Samhain gathering last year, Fabian and Gideon had moved in with Hermione. Molly had been slightly upset by her brothers' decision, but when she was reminded that the three of them were essentially married in the eyes of both the Fates and magic, she agreed it made sense. Things had been tight for the trio in the beginning as Hermione's flat wasn't very big, and enlargement charms could only do so much, but about four months ago, they found a decent sized cottage for them. With enough space should they be blessed with the chance to expand their small family.

"Yes, Gideon?" She replied as she stepped through the doorway from the kitchen and into their dining room.

She set her mug down on the table before pushing the sleeves of her sweater up past her elbows to try and keep it clean.

Gideon waited until she was seated again before asking, "What did you do as a child for Samhain?"

Hermione grinned as she dug back into her pumpkin. This was something the three of them started in December of last year when Fabian asked about some of the differences he noticed from how she decorated for Christmas to how his parents had. It had led to a discussion of Muggle versus Magical traditions, and it continued over the next year as each new holiday approached.

She was so glad he had asked because it really helped her get to know the two of them better in a short amount of time. Because while she had learned about some pureblood traditions over the years, each family had their own way of doing things that made the rituals unique to them. Before the two brothers had approached her at the Samhain gathering last year, she knew what she was getting herself into, but this little tradition helped them to learn about her and her history.

"For starters, we didn't celebrate, Samhain," she explained as she continued working on her gourd, the inside was almost clean. She couldn't wait to start carving as her wizards had already done so, "we celebrated Halloween, but even then as a child it wasn't nearly as popular as it is now. When I was younger, our celebrations for Halloween included carving a pumpkin lantern or two like we are," she gestured to the table between them, "or if you weren't able to get a pumpkin, then people would get Swedes such as rutabagas or yellow turnips to carve into lanterns.

"My parents would also host a party at our home, or we would go to a party at a relative's home or family friend's home. That's where the similarities to wizarding celebrations end. In the wizarding world, we have gatherings where everyone dresses in simple robes. In the Muggle world, most people dress up, ironically enough, I usually went as a witch."

"And what did a Muggle witch look like?" Fabian asked an amused grin tugged at the corners of his mouth.

Hermione snickered. "Black pointy hat, black robes, green skin, and warts."

Both Fabian and Gideon chuckled. "Seriously?"

"Unfortunately, yes," she replied with a laugh.

"What would you do at these parties when you dressed up as a witch?" Fabian asked the wink he gave her let her know he was teasing.

"Bob for apples, eat baked potatoes and hot dogs," she snickered at both wizards' reaction to her mentioning the Muggle food, "we would also drink warm apple cider. If the party were at my parents' home, my mum would hollow out apples for each of the kids for us to drink our cider from. The reason for that is to make it easier to separate the kids' drinks from the adult drinks that were usually spiked."

Gideon pushed Fabian away as his twin tried to lean over and sneak a glance at his pumpkin. "So the trick-or-treating that people talk about now is fairly new?"

Shaking her head at her wizards' antics, Hermione finally started carving into the flesh of her now clean and empty pumpkin. "Yes, it's something that has been done in the United States for quite a few years and is just now starting to show up in places over here. Give it a couple of years, and it will be quite popular in the Muggle world. We'll probably see it in the Wizarding world not long after that."

Gideon looked at her curiously for a moment, before he asked, "So, if you didn't celebrate Samhain and Halloween wasn't a big holiday for you, did you have something that you and your family celebrated instead?"

Focusing on her pumpkin, it took Hermione a few moments to respond. In the intervening silence, Fabian and Gideon share an amused glance at the look of concentration on her face. Including the tip of her tongue peeking out from between her lips.

"Guy Fawkes Night," Hermione replied.

Fabian looked at her in confusion. "Isn't he the guy who tried to assassinate one of the Muggle kings a few hundred years ago?"

She hadn't been surprised by their partial knowledge of the Muggle world based on their friendship with Arthur, and they were both naturally curious. Add that to everything they had learned ever since she bonded with them nearly a year ago and they had vastly expanded their knowledge of the Muggle world. They really had come a long way, and at the same time, they helped her to broaden her understanding of pureblood traditions.

"You're right; Guy Fawkes was part of a small group that tried to assassinate King James I on 5 November 1605. Guy Fawkes Night, which is one of many names the celebration has gone by over the years, is a night to celebrate the king's escape from the attempt on his life," she explained.

"So how did you and your parents celebrate Guy Fawkes Night?" Fabian asked as he set down his carving utensils. He stared at his jack-o-lantern for a few moments. Giving a nod of approval to what he saw, he looked up and gave Hermione his undivided attention.

"Well, parts of it are similar to Samhain," she replied. She paused for a moment before adding, "Well, the bonfires are similar, the fireworks not so much."

"Don't let George know there's a holiday that people use fireworks to celebrate," Fabian laughed.

"He doesn't need an excuse to set off fireworks," Hermione pointed out.

"True," Fabian agreed.

"What else?" Gideon asked. He glanced at Hermione out of the corner of his eye as he was putting the finishing touches on his own pumpkin turned jack-o-lantern.

Hermione shot a glare Fabian's way as he tried to get a glimpse of what she was carving into her pumpkin. "You'll just have to wait, mister."

Gideon laughed at his brother's antics. "Patience is not one of my brother's virtues."

"Oh, I know," she replied with a roll of her eyes. She turned back to Gideon. "To answer your question, most people go to a public bonfire display before going to their own home or a relative's home for a fireworks display. It wasn't much, especially compared to what you would see at a public show, but my dad always made sure to have a couple of Catherine wheels for me as they're my favourite." She smiled at the memory. "As children, we were not allowed to set off fireworks, but if we were old enough, we were allowed to hold sparklers in gloved hands. It was always something to look forward to when you were old enough to be able to handle a sparkler.

"My favourite part, besides the Catherine wheels, was eating bonfire toffee," Hermione said. "As the daughter of two dentists, I didn't get to eat sweets often, but bonfire toffee was one of the sweets I did get to eat. Many of the other kids loved toffee apples, but I always found them to be too sweet, whereas bonfire toffee was darker and less sweet."

"Do you still celebrate it?" Fabian asked.

Hermione shook her head. "Not really. It wasn't something that was celebrated at Hogwarts and with no longer living in the Muggle world, not many people know about it."

The two brothers shared a look as Hermione was finishing up carving into her pumpkin. A plan was already forming between the two of them. Thankfully they still had a couple of weeks to research and get everything together.

Setting her carving utensils down, Hermione sat back. "Alright, guys, let's see what you got."


End file.
